Off With Her Tits!
Off With Her Tits! is a French Revolution-inspired send-up of Joyce’s mastectomies, complete with a breast guillotine.
After a recurrence of breast cancer in late 2000, Joyce’s doctors told her if she submitted to Western medicine’s own “breast cancer guillotine,” her cancer journey would be over. But one of the best-kept secrets of breast cancer is how often it spreads to other parts of the body, becoming incurable.
In the piece, the handsome, reassuring smile of the hooded Dr. Ken Executioner belies the physically and emotionally scarring procedure he’s about to perform – and the dirty little secret he hides.
Marie Antoinette Barbie, the defiant figure at the piece’s center, personifies the sacrifice of Joyce’s breasts and her femininity. At her feet, spilling out onto the floor from a basket, are 44 severed breasts of all skin colors, shapes and sizes. Some show the warning signs of localized breast cancer, such as a bloody or inverted nipple and lumps.
Above the piece hangs an ornately framed image of Joyce, taken by Alex in the weeks before she died. Joyce’s head is adorned with a powdered French wig. With her characteristic dry wit – cancer be damned! – Joyce is still “having her cake and eating it too.”
The use of Barbies in the piece connects to Joyce’s childhood play with the iconic doll. Barbie’s unrealistic body proportions – reinforced by her mother’s reminders to look one’s best – shaped how Joyce controlled her appearance during cancer. Following her mastectomies, Joyce opted not to have reconstructive surgery but did use breast prosthetics.
Many of the components sourced for the piece are recycled, like the Barbie Grand Hotel that subs as the “Mastectomy Madhouse.” The three additional figures looking out of illuminated windows are residents of the Madhouse, where the enticing promise of “increased survival” comes at a cost. Upstairs in a corner of the Madhouse, the blacked-out room hints at the darkest realities of metastatic breast cancer – too often ignored in upbeat, Pink Ribbon culture. The entire building bears a sign with the modern Paris street name “Avenue Montaigne,” an area where women in mourning gathered during the 18th Century.
Contributing artist: Annie Dennison
Materials: Barbie, vintage plastic, LED lights, cutting mat, puddy, wallpaper, photo on canvas
Credit: Backdrop is covered with print-on-demand mastectomy wallpaper by Charlotte Winter.
Annie Dennison, an early stage breast cancer survivor and creator of the photo series Barbies Losing It, infuses the piece with a pop art edge. When Annie went through treatment, she came up with an unusual creative outlet to express her cancer-y feelings and share information about the disease. Armed with her camera, quirkiness, and a box of 29 bald Barbie heads, she launched the Barbies Losing It Project. Her images of “The Barbs” have shown up in various places, including an art exhibition at the University of Puerto Rico, in magazine articles on breast cancer, and at a New York Fashion Week silent auction.
Barbies Losing It Instagram: @barbieslosingit
Annie’s Instagram: @losingitwithannie